Star Wars: The Old Republic going free-to-play on November 15

In a move Electronic Arts has been prepping for months, Star Wars: The Old Republic will be going free-to-play on November 15 in a effort to renew interest in the MMO that has seen its subscriber base dip below 1 million.

Current subscribers will get 250 free Cartel Coins as well as coins for the number of months they have paid for their account, the announcement said. Prior subscribers that reactivate before December 20 will get coins for the months they had paid up to the free-to-play launch.

BioWare Lead Designer Damien Schubert told fans that free-to-play players will gain experience more slowly than paid players, and some aspects of play will be limited, but they will still be able to hit level 50 and access most of the main story and side quests as paid players.

The next content update 1.5 is coming soon, featuring the HK-51 Assassination droid and Nightmare more. Check out the developer dispatch that discusses the pending changes.